Elixir

“Elixir” by Ted Galdi is about Sean, an eighteen-year-old boy genius. When Sean was fourteen he solved the wandering salesman math problem which, unbeknownst to him, was the base for most encryption for the United States government. When the NSA found out that he had come up with a formula that instantly solved the problem, the NSA was scared that his knowledge would get into the wrong hands and swore him to secrecy. However, he later learned that the NSA used his formula to crack a code that led to the death of two civilians. Outraged, he made threats that were taken too seriously, and Sean was forced to change his identity and go into hiding in Italy where he lived in relative peace where he fell in love with Natasha. Just when his life seemed to finally be looking up, Natasha was infected with the deadly Ebola virus, forcing Sean out of hiding to use his genius to find a cure before it was too late. Will Sean be able find and make a cure before the disease takes its toll on Natasha?

My favorite character was Sean who endured multiple beatings and kidnappings in his search for an Ebola cure for Natasha. Another favorite part of the book was when Sean surprised his Italian friend by solving an incredibly hard math problem very fast.

I would recommend “Elixir” by Ted Galdi to people who enjoy action and adventure. This book did however contain sex, drug abuse, and under-age drinking which may be objectionable to some readers. This book was written in the present tense making it hard to follow at some points.